Neutering Your Cat

Its important to have your pet neutered. If you take a cat from an animal rescue centre or SPCA they will insist that you agree to have the kitten spayed as soon as it is old enough. If you could see all the sad cases that come to the attention of the rescue centres you would agree that this is the humane way to prevent the proliferation of strays.

A while ago we lived next door to some rather eccentric old ladies. They had a huge old house and they never went out. They even asked us not to call! They had dozens of cats that had probably been strays, that they collected by feeding them.

These cats gave birth to kittens galore which often arrived in the world on our side of the fence. They favoured our compost heap which was always nice and warm. But the kittens were sick. They had infected eyes running and sore. I don't even think they could see and they didn't play. It was so horrible. We saw first hand what happens when cats go feral and are never vaccinated or spayed.

Feral cats are often actually unaltered pet cats and there offspring that were abandoned by their owners . A colony of feral cats can spread diseases to pet cats and dogs in the area. Even when the cats are fairly healthy, they are often infested with fleas. When female cats are in heat, the colony can literally keep people up all night with their fighting and crying. Hungry cats will raid the trashcan and playful kittens will destroy shrubbery and soil lawn furniture.

Besides reducing the number of unwanted kittens, spaying and neutering cats provides several other important benefits. Have you ever been kept awake by the racket caused by a cat in heat? Soon the sound of your female house cat mewling pitifully at the door is joined by the yowling and fighting of every tom cat in the neighborhood. Un-neutered tom cats have a tendency to roam far from home if they are outdoor cats. Both indoor and outdoor tom cats will mark every new object with their odorous spray.

Unaltered cats are also more prone to certain types of cancer than altered cats. These cancers of the reproductive organs are very rare in cats that are altered by one year of age. In addition, unaltered cats can develop several contagious reproductive diseases.

Cats can be altered at quite a young age. Some humane societies will alter kittens as young as eight weeks. However, most veterinarians agree that it is healthier to alter kittens at five to six months.

Although cats rarely have problems after being neutered, sometimes their incisions become infected. Check your cat once a day to be sure the area has not turned puffy and red. If you notice your cat licking and chewing at the stitches from the surgery, you may need to talk to your veterinarian about using a surgery collar to keep the cat from being able to reach the stitches. In addition, while male cats can be active and bouncy without injuring themselves, female cats will need to be confined indoors for three to five days after the surgery